The Spirit of Fire
by Master of the Inferno
Summary: The Royal Family has just taken in an unlikely child and his small fox friend. this child will help the avatar restore balance to the world. Rating may change in later chapters. Canon pairings and Naruto/Ty Lee. Rating changed due to gore and violence and possible nudity in the future.
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**The Spirit of Fire**

**Summary: In the Fire an unexpected event has happened. The Royal Family has taken in the most unlikely of people, an orphan and his fox companion. With this act they have set in motion their destinies and that of the world. This boy will rise up and join the avatar to reshape the world for the better. Together they will win this war.**

**A/N: This is my first fic ever and its a crossover as well so please be gentle and enjoy the story.**

It was a quiet night and most were already asleep with the exception of guards and a few citizens, and one small boy. He moved as quietly he could so as to not alert the guards. The boy was somewhere around four or five years old, with bright blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes and six strange birthmarks on his cheeks, three on each one. He was wearing a pair of old sandals, black shorts and a plain white shirt that was at least two sizes too big. All of which were in poor shape like they had been scrounged out of a dumpster. This was Naruto Namikaze, an orphan living off the streets of the Fire Nation capitol. That's the way it's been for as long as he could remember in his short life. Following closely behind him was a small red fox with nine swishing tails.

"Careful Naruto, a guard patrol is coming," the fox said just above a whisper. Acting quickly they both dived into a nearby bush, "Thanks Kyuu," Naruto whispered to the crimson fox. Ordinarily this would freak a good number of people out, a talking fox with multiple tails but to Naruto it was perfectly normal. Kyuubi, or "Kyuu" as Naruto called him, has been with Naruto since the beginning; watching over him and helping each other survive. "Remind me again, exactly _how the hell_ did you convince me this was a good idea?" Naruto asked for the fifth time while they made their way through a corridor and ducking into an empty room to avoid more guards. "Because, the people here have a lot of valuables we can take, not to mention that the food is _way_ better than what we usually get," Kyuubi sighed.

See right now the duo were in the Royal Palace of the Fire Nation, home to the Fire Lord, his family and other important figures. They were trying to find the palace kitchen with a map they took off one of the servants. "I told you before we are **not** stealing, we're here for food only….and maybe some medical supplies if we find any: that's all." Kyuubi whined a little "Aw c'mon Naruto if we steal some gold or jewels we could buy, actually BUY, some FRESH food for a change," he argued, trying to get the boy to listen. He was really tired of scavenging for food out of the garbage or begging for it.

"We'll get fresh food in the kitchen and I told you; people will notice missing jewelry a lot more than missing food. Now come on, we need to go down this hallway," Naruto informed him looking at the map again. "Yeah yeah…" Kyuubi mumbled under his breath as they started moving again after getting their bearings. Within five minutes they found the kitchen, it was empty and it was MASSIVE. "Holy shit…!" they both silently shouted at the same time. They hurriedly gathered as much supplies as they could into a bag they had brought and soon they were ready to leave. "This is the only one time we are ever doing this Kyuu, next time we just raid an advisor's mansion or something,. This was way too risky and we're lucky we haven't gotten caught yet." Naruto told the fox as they made their way out of the kitchen and heading for the same court yard wall the climbed over. "Fine, I guess you're right, this was slightly insane, but definitely fun," the fox said with a grin. Naruto couldn't help but match it with his own foxy grin, "I guess it was," they both shared a silent laugh.

* * *

><p>They were halfway out of the palace when they were finally spotted by a guard. "Hey you! STOP!" he yelled out and Naruto and Kyuubi froze for a fraction of a second before breaking out in a full sprint. The guard gave chase while yelling "Thieves! Sound the alarm! Thieves in the palace!" soon there were four more guards chasing the blonde child and crimson fox. "Shit shit shit shit shit shit! Move Naruto, we gotta book it!" Kyuubi yelled while running for dear life. "I am! I am!" Naruto yelled back as he made several sharp turns through the hallways but no matter how hard he ran the guards just kept popping up and were starting to gain on him. "Dang it I gotta lose the bag or they're gonna catch us!" Naruto yelled in frustration and a small amount of fear. "AAAGH! DAMMIT! FINE TRY LIGHTENING IT! THROW IT AT THE GUARDS!" Kyuubi shouted and Naruto did just that, he whipped the bag open and started tossing things that might slow the guards down. They caught a lucky break when Naruto managed to pull out a melon of all things. "….how did we get this to fit in here?" Naruto said aloud with a cocked eye-brow and a sweat-drop, "No idea" Kyuubi deadpanned. Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and tossed it backwards scoring a bulls-eye and the lead pursuer. This triggered a chain reaction; the first guard was thrown backwards from the force of the melon while said melon broke apart. The spear the lead guard was carrying went flying out of his hands towards the guard on the right, the shaft of the spear hitting him right in the face and sending him to the floor. Guard number 1, on account of being knocked off his feet, went sprawling into guards number 3 and 4. Guard 5 managed to dodge his comrades and resume chase…but he neglected to watch his footing and slipped and the juice from the melon, sliding right into a wall.<p>

Naruto looked back and was slightly shocked by the turn of events "I can't believe that worked!" he shouted in joy, "Now let's get outta here!" the two continued running for their lives. Dodging even more guards the duo came upon a surprising encounter with three people, a woman somewhere in her mid-twenties (her age was never specified) with long raven black hair. On either side of her were two children, one was a boy no older than Naruto and the other was a girl a year or two younger than both of them. Even worse was that they had a group of six guards surrounding them. Naruto saw them and blinked, '_Crap! Now what?' _Naruto thought in despair, at least until he saw something, _Huh, that could work _"Kyuu! Follow my lead!" and with saying that Naruto picked up even more speed. "Lady Ursa, Princess Azula, Prince Zuko! Look out!" one of the guards shouted seeing Naruto sprint towards them. '_SHIT! That's the royal family!' _Kyuubi thought in horror, _Please Naruto, don't do anything too stupid! _He begged mentally.

As Naruto got closer to the small family he jumped left and landed on a table, using this as a spring board he jumped off towards the opposite wall and kicked off the moment his feet touched the surface of the wall. Soaring through the air Naruto reached out with his free hand and grabbed the chandelier up above and swung over and to the left of the stunned guards and family. Naruto let go and let his momentum propel him forward, he landed in a roll and started running again once he was back on his feet. And all through this no one noticed Kyuubi simply run right by them. Once he caught up he decided to say something to his friend, "Naruto, that. Was. Bad-ass!" he said with a laugh. "It was, wasn't it?" Naruto laughed out.

The laughter quickly ended when a fireball flew over their heads. "HOLY CRAP! I THOUGHT THEY WOULDN'T FIRREBEND WHILE INSIDE THE PALACE!" Naruto shouted in panic. "KEEP MOVING, WE'RE ALMOST OUT!" Kyuubi shouted back and as they made another turn they found themselves in the courtyard they had first entered in. "There!" Naruto shouted pointing to the rope and tree they used to scale the wall. Naruto reached the tree and started to climb it with Kyuubi on his shoulder so they could reach the rope. "We're gonna make it," Kyuu said as they got within a few feet of the rope. Naruto let a smile cross his lips as his fingers dusted the rope, but then he felt tremendous pain explode from his right shoulder. He looked back and noticed an arrow had hit him. "….Ow," Naruto said in below a whisper before he fell and hit the ground hard eliciting a scream of pain from him.

"NARUTO!" Kyuubi jumped down from the tree and was at his side in seconds, fur up on end, fangs bared and snarling, with all nine of his tails swishing violently behind him. Even with his small size he still made a terrifying image, especially with his blood red eyes. Despite their training the guards were wary of getting to close to the boy and fox. "What in the name of the spirits is going on here?" said an elderly voice. Everyone looked back and saw the last person the suspected to come here for there stood Fire Lord Azulon. He wasn't the only one there though, both of his sons, Iroh and Ozai, were right behind him with their families. Ursa, Azula and Zuko were by Ozai while Iroh's son, Lu Ten, was standing by his side. "My Lord; we caught this boy stealing from the kitchen. We gave chase through the palace and we ended up here; it appears this was his way of entry and escape." The captain of the guard reported. The Fire Lord raised an eye-brow with a slightly shocked expression, '_The kitchens are half-way across the palace and yet this boy managed to evade capture until now…'_

"Why did it take so long to catch him?" Azulon asked. "I'm sorry my Lord I can't say for certain why we didn't apprehend him sooner. Please forgive us; we shall deal with him immediately," The captain said with a bow. Unfortunately when he said "take care of him" Kyuubi had heard him and that caused him to growl even more. "What do you plan to do exactly?" Azulon asked already knowing the answer however. The captain gained a confused look before answering, "We will execute him my Lord." When Kyuubi heard that it sent him into a rage, "LIKE HELL YOU WILL!" He bellowed at that top of his lungs. That gained the attention of everyone. One guard leaned over to another and said in a small voice "You see? I told you that fox was talking," the other guard just nodded dumbly. "Father," Iroh spoke gaining everyone's attention, "I'm not sure that is such a good idea. This is obviously no ordinary fox or boy. As far as I know; no fox can speak nor do they have nine tails. This is obviously a spirit and it appears to be protecting the boy." "What do you suggest then, my son?" Azulon asked, genuinely curious. "We treat him and take him inside. From the looks of that bag of stolen items there is nothing but food in it, so when he is healed I say we feed him and find out why he chose here to steal from." This shocked everyone, no one expected it. Kyuubi even forgot to keep growling.

While Lady Ursa seemed to like this idea Ozai was not so keen on it, believing his brother being weak and soft again. However another thought came to him, this boy, a mere child managed to outwit and out-maneuver highly trained soldiers. With a smile Ozai said: "I completely agree brother." That instantly raised Iroh's suspicion; his brother never did anything kind like this and always had a plan for the things he did. '_What are you plotting now brother?'_ Iroh thought. It was at this time that Naruto decided to remind everyone with a pain filled grown, "Naruto!" Kyuubi shouted at his side. Naruto groaned again but this time his arm was reaching towards the arrow lodged in his shoulder. "Hold still Naruto, I'll pull it out. Can you sit up?" Naruto groaned again but tried to comply and sit up.

While he did that Kyuubi clamped his jaws on the arrow and gave it a tug. This got yelp of pain from Naruto. When she heard this Lady Ursa rushed forward despite the warnings of the guards, "You shouldn't do that," She said urgently, "You may make it worse; we have healers inside who can treat it properly. Don't worry; we'll take care of him." Now Kyuubi wasn't one to easily trust others but this woman, she was different. When he looked into her eyes he saw nothing but compassion and the truth. "Fine," He eventually relented. Ursa nodded her head and asked the guards to quickly take Naruto to the infirmary with Kyuu right by his side. Ozai watched all this with a small smile while a plan was forming in his mind. '_With proper training this boy will become the greatest of all soldiers.'_ With that all those in the courtyard left to carry out their duties, guards going back to their posts and the Royal Family heading to the infirmary with their new guest. With this act they have unknowingly set in motion the events of their destinies.


	2. Chapter 2: A Choice

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar. If i did i wouldn't be working part time.**

Naruto was upset and confused, why was he like this you ask? He was upset that he had been caught breaking into the palace and of course getting shot with an arrow. He was confused because instead of executing him like he thought they would, they treated his injury. Now he and Kyuubi were sitting in a bed the Fire Lord, his two sons and their families standing in front of him. They were all staring at him and it was starting to make him uncomfortable. Azulon, Ozai and Azula were looking at him as if they were analyzing him, each for different purposes though. Azulon was just taking him in trying to get a feel for the boy. While Azula was trying to figure out why her grandfather allowed a street urchin such as this boy to be let inside the palace, it was unheard of. Ozai's thoughts however were far more sinister; he was forming plans on how to train this boy. Then there were the looks Iroh and Ursa were giving him; one of understanding and compassion respectively. Lu ten and Zuko were just as confused as Naruto was with this whole affair.

"So, what do you want with us?" was Naruto's first question.

The Royal Family just blinked; shocked by the abruptness. _'Hehehe, blunt as usual,' _Kyuubi thought with a quiet chuckle. "You insolent brat! How dare you speak to the Fire Lord with such callousness, you will address him with proper respect and etiquette!" the guard stationed in the room thundered.

"Huh? Sorry, all I heard was_ 'blah blah blah I'm a jerk blah_"

"Why you little-"

"That's enough captain," the Fire Lord finally put an end to the argument with a wave of his hand. "B-b-but my lord…he…" The guard continued to sputter before finally falling silent and settling with glaring at Naruto.

"Now child, would you mind telling us why you were stealing from our kitchen?" Azulon questioned. Naruto squirmed uncomfortably at being put under the interrogation light at last. He looked around the room and noticed both Iroh and Ursa were smiling at him, encouraging him to speak. Naruto swallowed thickly, "W-well you see my lord, I have no family nor do I have a home. S-so me and Kyuu here have been living off the streets and we needed food and we wanted some really good and fresh food for a change. So we got the bright idea to take it from here, and when I say "we" I mean it was all his idea," Naruto finished with pointing at Kyuubi a little dramatically.

This caused everyone in the room to blink and all was silent for precisely three seconds before Kyuubi rounded on Naruto. "You are NOT pinning this all on me!" Kyuubi roared.

"Why not? It was your idea!" Naruto yelled back.

"You agreed!"

"Only because you wouldn't shut up!"

"Well I'm sorry I wanted some nice food for a change!"

"Hey I did to, but why did you pick the palace of all place?"

"I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time." Both were calming down near the end of their small squabble and it was a cough from the doctor in the room that brought everyone's attention to him. '_I had completely forgotten he was there…'_ was the collective thought of the group.

"You should calm down young man; with all that yelling you may very well have aggravated your wounds. You had just been shot by an arrow and fell roughly 15 feet, quite hard I might add. For one as young as yourself these can be quite series," the doctor warned with a serious expression. "Eh? But I don't feel any pain," Naruto answered confusedly while scratching his head. This got a confused and slightly shocked looks from the doctor, Iroh and Ursa and a raised eyebrow from Azulon and Ozai. That kind of thing shouldn't be possible. "Would you mind leaning forward please?" the doctor asked.

"Sure thing doc."

The doctor began to slowly undo the bandages that were wrapped around Naruto's shoulder and torso and was shocked to see that arrow wound was closing, slowly yes; but none the less the wound was healing a far more accelerated rate than normal. "Th-this…this is impossible, the wound is healing itself!" the doctor gasped. This caused everyone in the room, Fire Lord and Ozai included, to gasp. "That would be my doing," all eyes turned to Kyuubi waiting for an explanation. Kyuubi sighed as he began to clarify, "As you have no doubt guessed; I am a spirit. Somehow I've made a connection with Naruto and that is one of our shared abilities; a healing factor."

This left everyone stunned aside from Naruto who already knew this. "How is that possible? I have never heard of such a thing before," Ursa asked, genuinely curious just like all the other adults. In response Kyuubi shrugged his shoulders, or at least the equivalent of it. "I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to, I can't remember anything before waking up one day next to the kit and feeling the connection between them was a spirit in mortal form. Ozai frowned, there had to be more to this, "Is this healing ability the only thing you can do?"

Kyuubi looked at him and shrugged again, "Like I said: I can't remember. So maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Who knows?" Ozai frowned again but stayed silent, accepting it. '_Besides,'_ He thought, _'the ability heal from a wound like that in such a short amount of time will truly make him an excellent soldier'_ a small sinister smile began to form on his lips which went unnoticed.

All of a sudden a loud inhuman growl echoed through the room. Everyone looked at the perpetrator, which in this case was Naruto's stomach. "Sorry, I guess…I'm hungry…ehehehe," He said with a nervous chuckle while scratching his head and smiling sheepishly while Kyuubi sweat dropped at the boy's stomach's timing. Ursa smiled softly at this and couldn't help but think how cute the both of them looked right now. "Well then how about I make the two of you something to eat that is, if it is ok with you father?" Ursa looked to the Fire Lord.

Azulon stayed silent for a few moments before nodding, "Very well Ursa, do what you wish but afterwards I would like a word with you and my sons." All three nodded their heads with Ursa guiding Naruto out of bed and towards the kitchen. "Come along Zuko, Azula and I'll make all of you something to eat." The children quickly followed their mother all the while casting glances to the boy and the fox.

-**In one of the dining rooms**

The three children and one vulpine were all seated at a small table waiting for their meal silently. Something that was quickly driving Naruto insane; he hated silence almost more than anything. So he tries to strike up a conversation with the two sitting across from him. "Hi! I'm Naruto Namikaze, nice to meet'cha! What're your names?" The Fire Nation children just looked at this strange boy who was extending his hand in greeting. Hesitantly Zuko took the hand, shook it, and introduced himself as well, "I'm Zuko, and this is my baby sister Azula."

Said girl glared at her brother when he said "baby" but kept silent and looked away. "So your name's Azula huh?" Naruto cheerily asked. Azula just kept ignoring him. "Hey what's the matter? Can't you talk?" Azula finally look him in the eye and said in a clear voice "I don't talk to peasants." That statement mad both Naruto and Kyuubi face fault. When picked himself up off the ground and sat back down Naruto had a tick mark on his head. "That so? Well ain't that something," He mumbled out.

"I'm sorry for the wait children, here is your food," the voice of Ursa sounded through the small dining room they were currently in. They all turned towards the only adult in the room and noticed she was carrying a tray of food with a stuttering servant walking right behind carrying some glasses and a pitcher of milk. "Really my lady, you didn't have to help with this task. Royalty such as you should not be doing servant work," The young cook said in a small voice.

"It's really no trouble at all Lee, I enjoy doing this for my children and what's more we have a guest tonight," Ursa responded in a kind voice. She set the food on the table and handed the two plates of roast chicken to her children and two bowls of noodles in what appeared to be broth to Naruto and Kyuubi.

"I'm very sorry but I didn't know what you liked so I made you both some ramen. I hope that this is alright with you?" She asked in a slightly hopeful voice.

Naruto and Kyuubi looked at the bowls then to Ursa, back to the bowls, and back to Ursa. "You made this yourself?" Naruto asked in a small voice. Ursa was surprised by the tone he used but nodded her head and answered an affirmative. Naruto looked up and everyone saw he had one of the biggest smiles anyone had ever seen on his face as well as a few tears in the corners of his eyes. "Thank you!" He exclaimed with such happiness that it startled the adults slightly. Then Ursa remembered; he was an orphan. This was probably the first time anyone has ever made something for him. "You're quite welcome young man, now eat before it gets cold," Ursa told him with a loving smile.

Naruto nodded his head, wiped his tears away, and picked up the chopsticks and grabbed a small amount of noodles while Kyuubi gave his bowl an experimental sniff. They both took their first bites at the same time and chewed a few times before swallowing. The results were immediate; both gained giant stars in their eyes and proceeded to eat an inhuman speed, shocking all in attendance and within seconds both of their bowls were spotless. "That was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted!" they both shouted in unison. Ursa and the cook couldn't help themselves; they broke into fits of laughter. The two's expressions were just hilarious.

Once she calmed down Ursa answered with a smile, "It's called ramen; miso flavored to be exact. I'm glad you liked it so much, it's actually a simple dish that I'm actually able to make without help from Lee here" she finished with a somewhat embarrassed laugh.

Kyuubi got everyone's attention when he jumped onto the table, walked over to Ursa and sat down right front of her. She blinked in surprise when the small spirit took one of her hands in his tails, put one of his paws up to his chest in what looked like a salute, and looked her right in the eye.

"For this magnificent gift you have given me I swear my life to you, and will do whatever you ask for more of this heavenly brew," Kyuubi stated in a dead serious voice. Both royal children blinked with their mouths slightly agape while Lee the cook's jaw was on the floor and his eyes as big as plates. Despite herself Ursa felt a small amount of heat rising in her cheeks, not even her husband had spoken to her like that before. Naruto's reaction was somewhat different; he jumped up on the table as well and punched the fox right on the head.

"What the hell is wrong with you! Don't just go spoutin' off weird crap like that!" Naruto yelled at the still stunned fox with round white eyes. Kyuubi quickly recovered from the hit and shouted "What was that for?"

"You were saying retarded crap! You deserved it you stupid fuzz-ball!"

Kyuubi glared at the boy in front of him until he suddenly smirked, a smirk that unsettled Naruto. Without warning he suddenly found the world upside down. Confused on what just happened Naruto looked at his feet and found two furry red tails holding each of his ankles keeping him suspended in the air above everyone's heads. This startled everyone, not sure what was happening or what was going to happen.

"My lady, as a sign of my loyalty I also offer this brat to be your slave-child to do with as you see fit," Kyuubi stated with a smirk. All was silent for a few seconds before Naruto exploded with rage. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY!"

Then they all heard the sound of laughter and it was coming from the most unexpected person. Azula was actually giggling to herself; this shocked everyone besides Naruto and Kyuubi. Azula hardly _ever_ laughed and when she did it was normally when Zuko hurt himself. "For peasents you two are actually quite funny," Azula said witha smile. "Well whaddya know, the kid can do more than just glare," Kyuubi stated with his smirk still in place.

"Well that's all fine and dandy but do you think you can, oh I don't know, let me down now you damn fuzz-butt!" Naruto shouted while trying to pry the tails clamped on his legs loose but to no avail; the fox had to strong of a grip. That snapped Ursa out of her shock, "Kyuubi, please put Naruto down." The tone she used made both boy and fox pause for a split second; it was a mother's tone of absolute authority. Kyuubi eased Naruto back the ground and Naruto straightened out his clothes while glaring at Kyuubi.

"Now I would like to know where you two learned such coarse language," she stated with a frown. Both raised an arm, well tail in Kyuubi's case, and pointed at each other. Ursa's frown deepened, "The truth: Now."

Naruto and Kyuubi both gulped and started to sweat a little; who knew mothers could be so scary? "From the streets and around and then eventually from each other," Naruto told her with slightly scared look on his face.

"Very well, I will let this go for now but please reframe from using such bad language again."

"Yes ma'am," both agreed. Ursa smiled at the two, they were so full of energy despite having no home. That thought made her sad though, these two had no home, no family, nothing. '_I wonder if we could…'_ but before she could finish this thought her husband, Iroh and Azulon walked into the room.

-**Same time in a private room.**

"My sons, I would like to know what you think of this boy and his fox; this Naruto and Kyuubi." Azulon stated. The three were seated in one of the private rooms of the palace. It was small room with a single round table and three chairs for each of them. They were seated and drinking tea that a Iroh had brewed for them.

"I think he is an interesting young man father," Iroh said, "He is full of life and energy despite his circumstances." Azulon nodded his head in agreement and looked towards his youngest son waiting for his input.

"I am still unsure about him; he _did_ break into our home. But after what I heard he did: evading our guards for nearly ten minutes, managing to actually incapacitate six of them and most importantly nearly escaping the palace. He even managed to survive being shot from an arrow and falling from the top of the palace walls, a feat no five year old should be able to do."

Azulon nodded his head again agreeing with how impressive it was. "Then there's this spirit that is with the boy, why on earth would a spirit take mortal form and bond with a human; a child no less." Iroh did not particularly like where this conversation was suddenly going. "I think with proper training those two can become a force to be reckoned with," Ozai said with confidence. '_I knew it"_ Iroh thought biting back a growl.

The thought of training such a young child to be a soldier had never sat well with him. It nearly broke his heart that his own son, his precious Lu Ten, wanted to become a soldier and go into battle just like his father. However Azulon seemed to be considering what Ozai had said, going over all that he heard and weighing the options.

"We may have no choice but to train him; according to the law the boy should be executed." Azlon said, "However I for one am not too fond of killing a homeless child who only wanted some food, I am afraid I can truly only see one option that would spare his life without causing an uproar from the civilians: we would have to adopt him into our family as a probationary member."

Iroh and Ozai were slightly shocked at what their father had just suggested; never, in the entire history of the Fire Nation, has something like this happened before. Iroh recovered first and suggested he take the boy as his second son. Ozai, however, would have none of that, "I'm sorry brother but I believe I am better suited for this task. I do not mean to bring up bad memories and reopen old wounds but my wife is still living. Also you are a colonel* in our army. You may very well be called away into battle and would be unable to care for the boy while my family can. Also my wife already seems quite taken with him."

Azulon saw the logic in his youngest's argument; Ozai had always been good with politics. Iroh threw a quick glare at Ozai and then tried to speak but his father cut him off, "Very well Ozai the boy will be yours and Ursa's responsibility. Raise him well and keep him under control."

Ozai nodded his head while Iroh sighed in defeat but knew he couldn't change anyone's minds. "Very well let us finish our tea and go tell everyone the news. On that note; this is excellent tea, I am so very glad you showed the cooks how to make it Iroh." The three shared a small chuckle and continued to drink.

When they finished their tea they head for the small dining room where the others were. When they entered all conversation that had been going on ended. "Naruto we have something that we would like to discuss with you," Azulon told him and noticed how he and Kyuubi both tensed slightly, no doubt fearing they were finally going to be punished. Ursa also gained a worried look so to put them at ease the Fire Lord continued with "Ursa if would please bring Zuko and Azula and come with us. Also Lee, go and fetch Lu Ten from his room and bring him to my study. I feel the rest of the children should hear what we have decided."

Utterly confused Ursa complied with her father-in-law's commands none the less. Turning around the three men began to lead the group to the main study. The journey was travelled in silence with Naruto on the verge of panic, it was only thanks to the kind and reassuring smiles sent his way from Ursa and Iroh respectively that kept him from running away like a bat out of hell screaming at the top of his lungs like a little girl.

After five minutes of walking the group finally reached their destination it was a large room with an expensive looking desk in the back of the room. Book cases full of scrolls and tomes lined the walls. In one corner was a slightly large round table with just enough chairs for everyone to sit. Azulon asked everyone to sit and they began to wait for Lu Ten. Azulon took a seat with his sons flanking him. Directly across from him was Naruto with Kyuubi on his shoulder. Zuko was to his left while Ursa was on his right with Azula sitting next to her. Lu Ten soon arrived and took the last available seat next to Zuko.

"Naruto, with the much debate and consideration me and my sons have decided what is to be done about you," Azulon spoke with a neutral tone betraying no emotion. Naruto was starting to panic again and he began to fear the worst was about to happen. "In light of certain circumstances we have decided not to punish you." The silence was deafening. Naruto and Kyuubi, nor anyone else for that matter, couldn't believe what he just heard. He had broken into the palace and even stole from it but they weren't even going to punish him. No execution, no flogging, no imprisonment; nothing.

"We would actually like to extend to you a choice," Azulon continued gaining everyone's attention again, "How would you like to live here, with us?"

This question actually caused Kyuubi to fall off of Naruto's shoulder in shock. The rest of the room wasn't much better but still managed to stay seated. "A-Are you s-s-serious? You w-want to ad-adopt me?" Naruto asked as he picked Kyuubi up and out him on the table.

No one could believe what the Fire Lord was saying. "Yes, or more specifically; I will be the one adopting you," Ozai clarified, "You will become a probationary member of the royal family as my new son with Azula and Zuko as your sister and brother as well as my wife becoming your new mother." Ursa blinked in shock but she couldn't deny that she liked the thought of having another son; she smiled as she thought of her children getting along with the blonde boy. "Unfortunately you will need to have a legitimate reason for this," Iroh said causing Naruto to tilt his head in confusion, "We will be training you to become a warrior or a soldier. Actually I think a bodyguard sounds better." Azulon nodded his head liking the idea, after all when he was properly trained no one would suspect one so young to be a bodyguard and he'll be underestimated because of this.

"So my boy what do you say? Would you like to become part of our family," Ozai asked.

Naruto went over everything he had just been told in his head. If he accepted he would gain a home, _a family_. He would also be trained to fight so he could protect his new family. If he didn't accept he would be made to leave or he would be punished despite what they said, the law is the law after all. He looked to Kyuubi and saw the fox nod his head slightly. So Naruto drew in a shaky and said, "I accept your offer My Lords," Bowing his head with Kyuubi mirroring him. The adults in the room all smiled at how the boy's eyes shined with absolute and pure joy. The children were still shell shocked at gaining a new family member. And so the lives of the Royal Family of the Fire Nation have been forever changed.

**Alright here's the second chapter. hope everyone enjoys it. Also i would like to thank everyone who left reviews. to those who suggested i seperate the dialoge i tried and i hope it looks better now.**

***This is before the official start of the canon so i thought i would give Iroh a lesser rank because to me he seems like the type of person who would prefer to work his way up rather than getting his rank based on his social standing. I don't know if the Fire Nation even has colonels but i'm still making him one.**

**Please review!**


	3. New Friends

**A/N: Um hey there everyone. I know that it's been forever and a day since I've updated and I sincerely apologize. I do have some good reasons why though. First off my computer crashed and I lost pretty much everything that was on it and I had to start this chapter from scratch and it took forever just to get the computer fixed. Then my dad had to be taking to the hospital but he's ok. Then there was work; Christmas time in a retail store is not a fun time at all. Because of all this I developed a major writers block but I'm pleased to announce that it is gone for the most part. So with all that out of the way please enjoy!**

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><p>7 months.<p>

It's been seven months since Naruto was taken in by Ozai and his wife. Seven months since he became the second son of Ursa and brother to Zuko and Azula. Seven months since he gained a family. Naruto considered himself the luckiest kid in the entire world and he couldn't be happier. Sure it was difficult at first; Naruto had to wrap his mind around the fact that he wasn't alone anymore. That he had someone other than just Kyuubi. He adjusted soon enough after only a month. Kyuubi was enjoying being part of a family as well, more specifically the fresh food he was able to eat. However the seven months were not just relaxation and adjusting; after only a week after being adopted Ozai had started the boy's training. Naruto didn't mind one bit though, the way he saw it this was to get stronger so could protect his new family.

There were some restrictions though; if there was a formal dinner he was unable to attend and had to eat with the servants. Also unless Ursa was present he could not directly interact with Zuko or Azula unless given permission by them. He was told it was to keep up the appearance that he was, indeed, a body guard. He also made progress with the two; He and Zuko got along pretty easily actually and they were quickly becoming best friends. Azula was much more difficult but Naruto wasn't one to give up. Despite her bratty and stuck up attitude Naruto believed he was making progress with her as well. She had stopped calling him and Kyuubi peasants and now calls them servants, that's progress right? Well Naruto liked to think so anyway, he really wanted her to look at him as a big brother.

Accepting the idea of Ursa being his mother was by far the easiest thing to do. She was one of the kindest people Naruto had ever met and it didn't take very long for him to come to love her as his mother. Ozai was a different story though; sure the man seemed pleasant enough whenever Naruto talked to him but there was something about the man that Naruto just didn't trust. Lu Ten and Iroh were both kind to him so Naruto had no trouble calling them family. Kyuubi was happy because of all the free food. With as much food that the palace had he was in heaven. Right now Naruto was in the middle of a training session with the hand-to-hand combat instructors with Azulon and his sons watching from nearby.

"How's his progress?" the Fire Lord asked his oldest. Iroh took a moment to watch as Naruto went through a difficult move his instructor just finished teaching him before replying, "He is doing well given his age. I have never seen a child like him before." The Fire Lord turned to get a better look at his, "Explain" he commanded. "His drive is unlike anything I have ever seen, the boy's sheer determination is greater than most of our forces and those are full grown men and women." Azulon nodded and went back to watching Naruto as he went through his katas again.

He had to admit that the boy was amazing in his own regard and even though he was a mere street orphan he showed amazing potential. "What of any fire bending skills?" The Fire Lord asked. "None yet father, he may be a late bloomer like Zuko was or a non-bender but then again he is still young," Ozai answered. "Hmm that would be unfortunate if that were the case, but there are non-benders who are more than a match for some of the most skilled benders," Azulon said while thinking of a particular swordsman. They continued to watch for a few more minutes before the Fire Lord excused himself with Ozai following suit until only Iroh remained.

The exercises ended twenty minutes later but Naruto looked as if he could keep going. After drying himself off with a towel Naruto noticed Iroh making his way over to him. Giving a quick bow to his instructor Naruto made his ran to his adoptive uncle with a large smile, "Hey uncle Iroh!" He said in an excited tone. Iroh smiled back and said, "Hello Naruto, how are you? Are you enjoying your lessons?" "Yeah! They're really fun but hard, but that just means I have to try harder!" Naruto answered. Iroh nodded and the waved to the entrance to the palace, "Why don't you walk with me and we can talk some more?"

Naruto nodded before turning around and giving a loud whistle, they both waited patiently and soon enough a red blur shot out of the nearby tree and landed on to top Naruto's head. "Hey kit, hey general," Kyuubi said in a slightly sleepy voice. "Hello Kyuubi, it is nice to see you too," Iroh greeted the small fox, Kyuubi was never more than twenty feet from Naruto, still seeing the young boy as his responsibility.

Together the three walked down the halls of the palace, enjoying some small talk as they went before Iroh remembered the reason he had stayed behind. "Oh Naruto I just remembered, your mother has a surprise for you," Iroh said with a happy smile. "Eh? What kind of a surprise?" Naruto asked while tilting his head to side, causing Kyuubi to fall to the ground and glare at the boy, said boy not even noticing. Iroh chuckled at that, "You see, little Azula is having some friends come over and Ursa would like you to join them."

Naruto's mouth dropped slightly in disbelief; in the entire time he had been living here he had never had any contact with children his own age aside from Zuko and Lu Ten. The young boy jumped into the air pumping his fist and whooping and the top of his lungs. Iroh laughed hard at the sight, the boy's happy energy was just too contagious, when you were around him you just couldn't help but smile and laugh with him. "Come along now Naruto or we'll be late," Iroh said with a laugh. Naruto bounded up beside him and happily followed.

In a few minutes they reached a large court yard with a pond and half a dozen trees, seated around a table were Lady Ursa, Azula and Zuko as well as two other girls. One had light brown hair that was in a small pony-tail and was wearing a pink outfit, while the other had black hair, a traditional Fire Nation outfit and a somewhat melancholic expression. Ursa turned her head slightly to look at Naruto fully and smiled, "Ah Naruto, there you are. Thank you for bringing him brother," She said to Iroh. "My pleasure Ursa, I always enjoy talking with the boy. Take care Naruto," Iroh said ruffling the boy's hair. Naruto frowned slightly before trying to escape the hand which only caused Iroh to laugh and Naruto to smile, "Yeah sure thing uncle, see you tomorrow at training?" The boy asked. "Sure, I'll be there," He promised before saying good bye to everyone else and leaving.

"Naruto, why don't you join us? I made you and Kyuu some ramen," Ursa said, the effect was immediate. Both started to drool waterfalls and Naruto hastily sat down and tried to reach for his bowl, while Kyuubi went to the bowl on the ground, only to stop when they heard Ursa clear her throat softly, "Naruto, Kyuubi, we have guests so why don't you introduce yourselves before you eat?" She said in kind but firm tone.

Both the boy and the fox knew better than to go against her, good manners were a must when it came to their mother. "Um hi, I'm Naruto and this is my best friend Kyuubi. It's nice to meet both of you," Naruto said while sweating slightly, casting glances at his adoptive mother to make sure he was doing it right and throwing a small glare at Zuko who was snickering quietly at the both of them.

The girl with the gloomy expression simply looked at him and nodded saying "Mai, nice to meet you too," Which Naruto figured was the best he was going to get for the moment. The girl with the pony tail however actually hopped out of her seat and walked to him, "Hi! I'm Ty Lee it's very nice to meet you!" She said with a large smile, revealing she was missing one of her bottom teeth, while enthusiastically shaking his hand. Naruto was surprised at the action before smiling just as big as the girl. Ursa giggled at the sight, they were just too cute, while Azula face palmed thinking both of them were idiots.

"Well now that the introductions have been made why don't we eat?" Ursa said reaching for her tea. Everyone went about getting their meals and Naruto looked at his chopsticks and then to his bowl then to his stomach, which was starting to growl, and went between the three several times before setting his chopsticks down. Both Zuko and Kyuubi noticed this and began to wonder what was wrong, that is until Naruto grabbed his plus sized bowl with both hands and brought to his lips. This action caught everyone's attention and they watched in shock as Naruto drained the entire thing, noodles and all, in one massive gulp. He set the bowl down and let out a massive belch only afterwards did he notice the stares he was getting.

He simply chuckled weakly while scratching the back of his head, "Ehehehe….um excuse me?" he half asked while sweating bullets from the look Ursa was giving him. This sent Zuko, Ty Lee and Kyuubi into hysterics while Azula and Mai both had disgusted looks on their faces. "Hahahahaha, nice one Naruto!" Kyuubi finally managed through his laughter. This brought on a new bout of staring, mainly from Mai and Ty Lee.

No one ever said the fox could talk.

Noticing the looks he was getting Kyuubi looked at both girls and deciding to mess with them a little more he sprouted all nine of his tails and asked "What? Never seen a multi-tailed talking fox before?"

This surprised them even more, Mai's jaw seemed to be trying to touch the table but Ty Lee's reaction after getting over the shock was not what anyone expected. "So…so…so CUUUUUUUUTE!" Ty Lee squealed seeming to appear right in front of Kyuubi with hearts for eyes. Kyuubi, for his part, was doing the wise thing to do in this situation: he was starting to seriously freak out.

He was backing away when Ty Lee started to reach for him, when Kyuubi saw this he tried to bolt but the girl was too quick, 'Damn this girl has some good reflexes!' Kyuubi thought as Ty Lee brought him into her arms for a crushing hug.

Naruto and Zuko were laughing so hard that their sides started hurting, Ursa was trying and failing to hide her giggling behind her hand, Mai was shaking her head at her friend's antics while Azula was just smirking at the scene thinking that the fox deserved this. He had played a small prank on her the week before and she was still mad about it.

"Naruto! H-help me already!" Yelled Kyuubi struggling to get free from Ty Lee's grip but to no avail, the girl had him and she wasn't letting go anytime soon. "Oooh, you're so cute Mr. Foxy! So-so-so cute! Your fur is so soft, I wanna brush it all day long and give you baths so that you'll smell all pretty and take you for walks and play with ball with you and…" Ty Lee ranted on seemingly unaware of the laughter around her.

By this point Ty Lee's hug and become a vice and Kyuubi was slowing losing consciousness, and it was at this point that Naruto took notice and tried to tell her, "Um Ty Lee…?" too late as Kyuubi's head sagged down and his tails went limp.

All the laughing stopped immediately and Ty Lee finally released her hug, holding the knocked out fox up and at arm length, "Mr. Foxy! Are you ok!?" She cried out before looking to Naruto, her eyes big and crying anime tears. "I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-sor-sorry!" She sobbed out, "I d-didn't me-mean to k-ki-kill him…."

Naruto watched as this girl blubbered out apology after apology before taking Kyuubi and setting him on cleared spot on the table. Naruto looked towards Ty Lee with a smile, "Don't worry about it," He said and before the girl could ask him how she could do that he adopted a thinking pose. "Now…how should I wake him up?" Naruto wondered out loud while everyone's attention remained on the passed out fox, Ursa was worrying that Ty Lee had seriously hurt the little vulpine she had come to love.

"Ah! Naruto how about the way you woke him up last week?" Zuko offered after a few moments. Naruto's face split into a huge grin, "Great idea brother!" making Zuko grin as well. The sight warmed Ursa's heart, happy that the boys really did see each other as brothers now.

Still grinning Naruto leaned in some so that Kyuubi's ear was just inches away, "Hey Kyuu, there's a squirrel over there!" He almost yelled into the fox's ear. The effect was instantaneous, Kyuubi shot up on all fours frantically looking around. "SQUIRREL!? Where!? Where!? I hate squirrels…" He grumbled as he kept looking around all nine tails slightly poofed out. He stopped looking when he noticed Naruto rolling on the ground laughing his head off and holding his sides. Looking around he noticed Zuko, Ty Lee and Ursa all in fits of laughter, Zuko actually had his head on the table, his fist pounding on it right next to his head, he was laughing so hard. Ursa was once again trying to hide her giggling, but Ty Lee was openly laughing at him, finger pointed straight at the fox. Kyuubi returned his attention to his charge and glared as hard as he could at the boy, from an outside perspective one might think that Naruto would have a hole drilled right through his head Kyuubi was glaring at him so hard.

Naruto just ignored him, used to it apparently, and continued laughing. "Naruto, you're a DEAD MAN!" Kyuubi yelled jumping at the boy, earning a startled shout from him, which caused a fight obscured by a giant dust cloud. "Uh…" Mai said, "Is this normal?" She asked her friend. Azula just rolled her eyes at the two as they circled the table, still fighting, "They're idiots, so yes. It is." She said in an annoyed tone, "Actually they're pretty calm today," Zuko spoke up, "Probably because mom's right there. This kind of thing usually would've happened sooner than it did."

Mai nodded before looking at the fighting pair, though she glanced back at Zuko with a very small smile on her face, and proceeded to drink her tea. Ursa, though she thought it cute, had had quite enough of the fighting and stood up, clapped her hands once, and said in an extremely stern voice, "Naruto. Kyuubi." Both stooped fighting at her tone the dust cloud finally clearing revealing the pair in mid-fight.

Kyuubi had one tail wrapped around Naruto's left arm while another tail had its tip balled up and looked as if it was about to punch Naruto. His front paws appeared to be holding Naruto's leg down while his jaws were open wide, ready to bite the boy's leg. Naruto had his knee firmly planted in the fox's stomach which was keeping Kyuubi slightly off the ground, his arm that was being restrained was grabbing another tail and looked like he was trying to pull it off. His free arm had another tail but this time instead of trying to rip it off he was pulling it close to his mouth which was opening as wide as possible; seems like Naruto had the same idea of biting his adversary.

Ty Lee let out a snort at the way the two looked, they were starting to sweat bullets from the way Ursa was looking at them and quickly let go of each other and sat down on the ground looking down. "Boys, you know how I feel about you two fighting, right?" Ursa questioned, to which the duo nodded, "And you know I'm trying to teach you both manners, right?" Two more nods. "And you both know that we have guests, right?" More nodding. "Then I never want this sort of behavior to happen again. I won't stop you if it's in the training ground or another court yard but not when we're having lunch. Is that clear sweet hearts?" she asked with a smile but this only served to unnerve the two even more. They could see a black aura surrounding their mother and they knew that disobedience meant extreme punishment.

"Y-yes ma'am, we're very sorry," Both boy and fox said at the same time and bowing just in case. Ursa smiled at this, they're energy was refreshing in the palace but it needed some work so that they knew when to behave, "Then let's finish eating shall we?" she said nodding toward the table.

Naruto and Kyuubi looked and saw that their bowls had been refilled. Smiling, they both went back to their places at the table and starting eating again, this time being mindful of their manners. The group sat in the court yard for a few hours before Ursa said it was time for Ty Lee and Mai to go home. It was extremely funny to the group as they watched Ty Lee sob out a good bye to Kyuubi while she had him in another death hug. After prying the fox free the two girls were escorted to their parents and taken home.

"Will they come again mom?" Naruto asked, watching as the girls left the palace grounds. Ursa watched her children, Azula going about her own business and Zuko standing beside Naruto, she couldn't help but smile, "I'm sure they will sweetie, after all you're all friends now."

_Friends._

Naruto wasn't used to having friends, he was used to just surviving. Sure him and Kyuubi were friends but they had a brotherly bond between them, the same went for Zuko, but still he wasn't familiar with the happy feeling he felt when he thought of seeing the two again. A wide grin stretched across his face as he thought about it, "Yeah, we are. Hey Zuko lets go see what Lu Ten is doing," Naruto said looking at his brother. Zuko smiled, "Ok, let's go," He said following the blonde.

Ursa smiled as the boys walked off, happy at how her family has grown. She bent down and picked up Kyuubi and began to scratch behind his ear, she was the only who he would allow to do this. "That was nice of you Ursa, letting the brat meet those kids," Kyuubi said while enjoying the attention he was receiving. "He needs to interact with other children not just train and train, I will not allow my husband to make him into an animal, with nothing but fighting and killing," She said in a slightly angry voice.

Kyuubi thought for a moment before replying, "I highly doubt that would ever happen but still you're right; he needed this. Ah….a little to the left, oh….oh! Right there…." He mumbled out the last part in pure bliss. Ursa giggled at the fox before going to sit in a chair and began planning the next luncheon to invite the kids again.

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><p><strong>Again I am so sorry about the huge delay but to make it up to all of my faithful readers I am going to release another chapter tomorrow as soon as I get off of work. And thank you to all who have either reviewed, added to favorites and alerts. I really appreciate your support. So thank you, goodnight!<strong>


	4. A Dream Gone to Hell

**Hey again! I promised another chapter and here it is! I want to thank OutlawJustice for your advice, I really appreciate the blunt honesty. I hope I was able to improve this chapter compared to the others and I will try to keep improving. So without further delay for my idiotic rambling, enjoy!**

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><p>It had been three weeks since Naruto first met Ty Lee and Mai and they had been over almost every day since then. All of the kids were getting along very well; the girls had already formed a close friendship, though with Azula it was always hard to tell if she cared at all for the other two. Surprisingly though it was Naruto and Ty Lee who got along the best out of the group, they were the only ones who could keep up with each other given their high amount of energy. Naruto never thought he would be this happy when he was living on the street, it stilled seemed like a dream to him.<p>

Sadly the dream was about to turn into a nightmare.

Mai and Ty Lee had come to visit again and the children were all playing in a large court yard while Ursa and the other girl's mothers talked at a small table in a corner. There was a small squad of guards watching over the family, seven in all, confident nothing would happen on their watch; confidence that was about to cost them everything. They were so busy watching the grounds they never thought to look up for if they did they would have seen several figures moving from shadow to shadow on the roofs.

When they all stopped moving one crept to the to edge making sure that no one noticed him as he lower a thin cable tied in a noose down toward one of the lone guards. He never noticed until the cable quickly went over his head and tightened cutting off his air supply, and he was hauled up to roof quick as lightning unable to scream for help.

No one ever noticed.

It wasn't until the next guard was taken in the same fashion that the first guard was that Kyuubi and Naruto both noticed.

"Did you hear that Kyuu?" Naruto asked looking at the small fox as his ears twitched looking for the noise.

"Yeah, it sounded like someone choking," Kyuubi said.

Naruto nodded, "Uh huh I thought so too but there was a scraping sound as well." The other children just looked at the two with confused looks, in Azula's case annoyance, as the continued looking around when Kyuubi suddenly stiffened.

"Naruto, the guards at the south end…they're not at their post anymore," Kyuubi said pointing his tail in said direction.

Naruto looked over and saw that the guards had indeed vanished. Ursa noticed that the kids had stopped playing and that Naruto and Kyuubi were acting strange got up and started making her way over to them to ask what was wrong. Naruto eventually looked up and saw something, a dark figure with what looked like a long tube and it was aimed right at Ursa.

He understood immediately what it was and acted on pure instinct, "MOM!" Naruto shouted as he dove at her and tackled her to the ground, just in time as a small needle sailed right over them. This got a series of gasps and shouts of surprise from everyone, all of them rushing to the two.

The guards never took more than a step when they were suddenly covered in shadows as the remaining assassins descended on them and each buried a dagger into the back of the guards' necks, severing the spine and cutting through their windpipes; killing them all instantly. The one with the blow gun used this as his chance to shoot the children with his needles. One by one the kids collapsed as the sedative kicked in. Ursa could only watch in horror as these men murdered her guards and attacked her children and their friends. Quickly getting herself and Naruto to their feet she ran to Zuko and Azula.

"Zuko! Zuko, wake up! Azula sweetie, open your eyes!" Ursa screamed frantically trying to wake them up while Naruto and Kyuubi tried the same with Mai and Ty Lee. At this point all eight of the cloaked figures were standing in the court yard quietly talking.

"There's an extra one," The tallest one stated as he ground his steel bucklers together.

"What should we do?" The shortest of them all asked, this one with a female voice.

The leader stepped forward and was about to give orders when he noticed a lone guard had wandered into the courtyard and saw the intruders and the bodies of the fallen guards.

Eyes wide with panic he did the most sensible thing, "INTRUDERS!" He yelled at the top his lungs while pulling a rope that was set inside the wall next to him, ringing a series of bells that were heard all of over the palace.

"INTRU-GAH!" The guard never finished as a throwing knife pierced his throat. Grabbing the area around the blade in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding, he faced his attackers and was met with another knife that hit right in the forehead and pierced his brain.

"Fucking hell," The Leader cursed, every guard in the whole damn palace would be on high alert now!

"Okay grab the kids, Zuko and Azula are the priority targets, the other two are children of high ranking officials so they should be worth a lot of gold," He told the others.

"What about the princess and that brat?" The tall one asked.

"The brat is just a servant so he's nothing to worry about" Leader said, "Kai, you and Ao secure the princess. The rest of us are leaving, now!" He yelled as they picked up the children and climbing a grappling line back to the roof.

"Kai you take care of the kid I'll get the princess," The tall one, Ao, said as he moved towards the pair.

Kai removed his cloak and reveal the almost every inch of him was covered in blades. He pulled down the face part of his mask and revealed an insane grin as his pulled a scythe and a two foot dagger out.

"With pleasure, the young ones always scream the sweetest, hahahahaha!" he laughed as he advanced on Naruto.

Naruto was scared, no he was terrified. These men had just kidnapped his friends and family, they were about to take his mother and they were even going to kill him. Kyuubi stood by his side growling but with his small size he wasn't really a threat. Ursa got up and ran at the Ao with tears streaming down her face.

"Where are my children!? Why did you take them, where are they!?" She screamed at the man.

Ao growled in annoyance and slapped her to the ground, mindful of his gauntlets. "Shut up," He growled and moved to pick her up.

Something in Naruto and Kyuubi snapped, these men had broken into their home (though they did the same thing a few months ago) kidnaped their friends and family and now had dared to strike their mother. Ao now stood over Ursa and was about to reach and grab her when suddenly he was hit in the side of the head by something extremely strong. He was sent flying through the air and crashed right into Kai, sending both men into the opposite wall.

Ursa looked around, confused on what just happened when she saw Kyuubi. He was standing a little of too side and she saw his tail retracting and realized that his tail was what hit Ao but it looked larger than normal. Then she took in the rest of him, his fur was all standing up on end, a deep threatening growl escaping his throat but the most unsettling thing of all were his eyes. While his eyes were always a deep red they usually exuded a playful light, as if he was trying to figure out how best to prank you without being caught but still letting you know he was the culprit. Now though any and all of that mischief was gone, replaced by never ending rage, maliciousness and a cold hunger for blood. It startled her to see the cute little vulpine this way, it was so unlike him. Then she saw her son who was rising up off the ground, looking down so his bangs covered his eyes, and walked over to the fox and knelt down next to him. Ursa heard a noise and noticed that the two were getting back up and was about to yell at Naruto to run when he put his hand on Kyuubi's head. The fox suddenly grew to three times his size, so he was the same size as a large wolf, and sprouted all nine of his tails while his eyes began to glow slightly. This shocked everyone, the growth spurt for Ursa and everything for the two hit men.

"Cheap tricks won't save you pathetic little piece of trash! I'll gut you here and now!" Kai yelled as he threw both the dagger and scythe at Naruto.

Ursa watched in horror as the deadly weapons sailed through the air toward the boy whom she had come to love as her second son, a scream tearing its way out of her throat. Without even looking up Naruto snatched both weapons out of the air. This shocked everyone other than Kyuubi as he continued to glare at the two assassins, growling even louder. Finally Naruto looked up and glared right at Kai, a vicious snarl taking over his face.

Ursa couldn't believe her eyes, Naruto, a boy who was always smiling, was looking at the two men with pure and absolute hatred and rage. It was unnatural to see him this way, he was the prime example of cheerfulness.

"What's with look huh kid? You think it makes you look tough do you?" Kai asked while pulling two short swords from his back, "I'll teach you not to look at your elders with such disrespect!" Kai yelled as he charged at the boy.

Kyuubi looked at Naruto and said "You got this trash?"

"Yeah, protect mom," Naruto said back as he got into a basic stance his teachers taught him.

Kyuubi nodded and with blinding speed appeared in front of Ursa so he stood in between her and Ao who was finally on his feet and had thrown his cloak of as well revealing a mountain of muscles. Naruto waited for Kai to close in on him before bringing up his guard to block the double downward strike that was aimed to take both of his arms off at the shoulders. Kai couldn't believe it, this _kid_ had blocked his attack. No child should have had this kind of strength. So he tried another attack with just one blade aimed for Naruto's head which he promptly ducked under and countered with the dagger. Kai dodged the strike before resuming his assault trying to bisect the child. However Naruto dodged once more by jumping back and put both weapons in a reverse grip before he charged a Kai. Kai couldn't help but smirk as he saw his chance to kill the annoyance as he prepared to bring one blade down on him in a feint that would leave Naruto unbalanced with no defense. But he didn't anticipate Naruto suddenly jumping up into a spinning flip, Kai tried to bring his guard up but the blade in his left hand was knocked aside by the dagger in Naruto's hand, while still spinning Naruto brought the scythe down on Kai's head. The blade found its mark as it buried itself in Kai's skull and Naruto let go of the scythe and landed on his feet looking down. Kai immediately crumpled, dead before he even hit the ground, his body twitching slightly.

Ursa's hand shot to her mouth in shock, completely ignoring Kyuubi as he fended of Ao with his tails with no effort, Naruto had just killed someone! Bile rose to her throat as she stared at the dead body, it was her first time seeing someone killed, and it was her son who had done the act.

Ao looked over and saw Kai's body with the scythe still sticking out of his head, "Kai!" He yelled in shock and when he saw Naruto just standing there his anger rose even more.

"You little shit I'll crush you!" Ao roared as he ran right at Naruto who finally took notice of the giant sprinting toward him. Acting on instinct Naruto threw the dagger he had in a bid to slow Ao down, but it didn't work at all. Ao swatted the flying knife aside and lashed out with a kick aimed at Naruto's head, the boy managed to duck underneath it but was unable to dodge the follow up kick that hit him square in the face.

"NARUTO!" Ursa screamed.

Ao wasn't quite done yet but something caught his attention in his peripheral and he went into a roll as he narrowly dodge another one of Kyuubi's tails.

"**You'll pay for that human**" The fox snarled with a deep threatening voice that sent chills down Ursa's spine.

Ao just snorted before looking back at Naruto who was now on his feet and running right at him. Ao stood up and prepared to strike when Naruto jumped into the, fist cocked back as if to punch him. Ao couldn't help the cruel smirk that crossed his lips, this kid just left himself wide open with this pathetic attempt of an attack. When Naruto got within range Ao lashed out with a vicious punch, and with all his muscle and his steel covered fist the punch would most likely break the young boy's neck. His attack never connected though, just as his fist was about to land Naruto grabbed Ao's forearm and used the momentum from his jump and his light frame to swing under Ao's arm and up feet first so that he kicked him right in the face with both feet.

"_Payback"_, Naruto thought.

Ao's nose erupted in a fountain of blood as it completely broke from the kick. Ao's head leaned back providing Naruto with a perfect platform as he sprung of his face and performed a forward flip. As Naruto came down head first he slammed both of his open palms onto Ao's ears, discombobulating him. Naruto landed and rolled to his feet as the giant assassin staggered and dropped to his knee. Naruto looked around and spotted Kai's body and made a mad dash for it, when he reached it Naruto yanked the scythe out of his skull. Around this time Ao had gotten back to his feet and was now trying dodging three of Kyuubi's tails but was having a really hard time as some blows were landing and Kyuubi wasn't giving him the chance to counter. With a quick look at Naruto Kyuubi stopped his attack, and Naruto rushed Ao. Seeing that the boy was charging at him again Ao let his rage take hold of him and charged as well fully intent on crushing Naruto.

As they closed in on each other Ao thought Naruto would try the same thing as last time and prepared himself but he once again underestimated Naruto. Instead of jumping up like before Naruto dropped to his knees and slid underneath Ao, as he did so he brought the scythe in both hands and slashed upwards right through Ao's groin. Screaming in pure agony Ao dropped to his knees hands going towards his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, "You motherfucker! I'll fucking kill you!" He yelled out as he turned to look at Naruto but instead was met with razor sharp fangs. Kyuubi had lunged at Ao the second he hit the ground and in one quick passing ripped his throat out with one bite of his teeth. With his femoral artery and his throat torn open he was dead in seconds.

This last spectacle happened just as Iroh, Ozai and a squad of guards entered the courtyard. To say they were shocked was a huge understatement, they couldn't believe their eyes. A small boy had taken out two full grown men and the formerly tiny fox was now growing to be as tall as a full grown man's waist.

"Naruto?" Iroh asked as the boy got back up on his feet, Naruto didn't even acknowledge him as he went over to Kai's body with Kyuubi following him.

Ozai went to his wife's side and helped her to her feet, "Are you alright" He asked.

"Yes…but Ozai the children…" she sobbed out.

"It's alright the troops have already sealed off the palace gates," Ozai said as he looked at the body of the giant assassin.

"Don't worry Mother, we'll get them back" Naruto's voice sounded across the courtyard.

This drew everyone's attention to him as he slid the scythe into his belt. They all noticed that he had taken a small number of bladed weapons from the body he was near, some throwing knives and two tantos were stuffed into his belt opposite the scythe, the long dagger he had used against Kai was in his right hand.

They all wondered what he was planning when a runner suddenly came up with a message.

"Captain, My Lords and Lady, we've captured one of the intruders. He was intercepted after of the guards caught him in the leg with an arrow." He reported while trying to regain his breath.

"What direction were they headed?" Iroh asked.

"To the south General."

"South, got it"

Everyone looked at Naruto once more, clearly confused by what he meant.

"Naruto?" Ursa asked.

"I said I'd get them back Mom, and I won't go back on my word," Naruto said, and with that he jumped on Kyuubi's back, as soon as he was settled Kyuubi crouched down.

"Naruto wait!" Iroh cried too late, and jumped up onto the roof and started heading to the south.

"Naruto!" Ursa cried but he was already gone.

Ursa broke down into sobs as her husband and brother-in-law went about ordering the guards on what to do.

"Ozai…" She said gaining his attention.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Bring them back to me" She told him.

He nodded and followed his brother and the guards out of the court yard while a small group stayed behind to escort the princess to a secure room.

Kyuubi bounded across the roof of the palace at an incredible speed before finally catching what he was looking for, "I've got their scents Naruto, we're close," He said to the boy. Instead of trying to catch the intruders' scent Naruto suggested looking for the children's scent since Kyuubi was more familiar with them.

Kyuubi bounded in the direction the scent was coming and finally spotted the group of kidnappers but something was wrong, "Why are there only three?" Kyuubi asked aloud.

Indeed there were only three of the original eight now running for the palace walls.

"Doesn't matter, they still have everyone" Naruto stated.

With a grunt of agreement Kyuubi k kept running on the now parallel roof. Once they were close enough Kyuubi leapt off and dived right at one while Naruto jumped off his back for the other. Naruto drove the long dagger he had through the kidnapper's leg and into the stone below. This caused him come to a sudden stop and drop Ty Lee while grabbing leg, screaming in agony. Moving quickly Naruto caught Ty Lee and set her on the ground before spinning around and drawing one of the tanto and driving the blade into the assassin's eye. His screams quickly died as he did.

While that happened Kyuubi had pounced on the one holding Mai, one of his tails shooting in front of him to grab ahold of the girl so she didn't hit the ground. With wasting a second Kyuubi used his powerful jaws to tear the would-be kidnapper's face off and left him there to die slowly. The Leader spun around and saw that both of his men were dead and saw that it was the servant kid and the fox that killed them he could only guess that Ao and Kai were dead as well. Setting Zuko and Azula down he took his cloak off and drew and normal Chinese jian.

"So little boy, you want to play the hero huh? We could've helped end the suffering felt around the world if our employer got a hold of these damn brats. But do you care you fucking Fire Nation bastard? No! But I wouldn't expect a kid like you to understand, whatever let's just get this get this over with," Leader said as he got in a ready stance, his eyes flicking up for a split second.

Naruto saw it and reacted instantly by grabbing the scythe and throwing it backwards without looking. He was rewarded seconds later as a large thud was heard, turning slightly Naruto saw the body of one of the intruders with the scythe embedded in his face, a blow gun in his hands.

"_So that's where that one was hiding",_ Kyuubi mused as he looked up at the small crevice on the roof from where the body had fallen.

Kyuubi turned slightly when he heard the sound of foot-steps and saw that Iroh and Ozai had finally arrived with a contingent of guards, "_About time" _He thought "_Hm? What's this scent? Wait I recognize it"_.

"_Shit! He took out Marksman, that only leaves me and Nia, damn we were so close,_" Leader thought as he looked at the body wondering if his last comrade had enough time to get ready the next part of their escape plan.

If she survived she could report about this freaky kid so a better plan could be made. As the leader thought this Nia looked out from behind a pillar towards the scene, she was halfway dress in a palace guard outfit, apparently that was how they planned to escape, to disguise themselves and smuggle the kids out of the palace.

"_Holy-! How did that kid do that?"_ She thought as she saw Naruto kill the long range expert of the group, "_Sorry boss but I gotta get outta here, someone's gotta tell them what happened. Besides I am not dying here!"_

Nia was just about to finish strapping on her armor when she saw something red flash across her vision and then felt pain explode from her entire being. Looking down she saw five red tails piercing her chest and she knew that they belonged to the fox, looking closer at the fur she saw that it glinted slightly. With what strength she had left she brought her hand to one of the tails and found that it was as hard as steel and each hair as sharp as any blade.

"**You can't escape my sense of smell trash,**" She heard a deep voice say, "**Now die**" and with that Kyuubi pulled his tails in different directions, tearing Nia apart into several pieces.

Leader's eyes grew wide as he saw the last of his team killed in such a gruesome way but didn't have time to even think about it as he was forced on the defense by Naruto who had taken advantage of his momentary shock and threw all five of the throwing knives that he had taken, each one aim for a vital part of the Leader's body. The Leader knocked each one out of the air and brought his sword up just in time to block the flying strike from Naruto who had drawn the second tanto. Lashing out with a punch to try and hit Naruto while still in the air Leader found himself on the receiving end of the same move Naruto had against Ao, but instead of jumping off like last time Naruto just fell straight to the ground while the Leader was just able to keep his balance. Sticking his empty hand out to ground Naruto used it to spin once he landed and slashed at his opponents legs. Because of the angle he landed Naruto missed Leader's left leg entirely but he did manage to bury the blade into the right calf and severed the hamstrings there, rendering the leg next to useless. Leader cried out in pain and dropped his sword falling to the ground, Naruto tried to capitalize on this and tried to bury his blade into the Leader's chest but he was able to catch the small boy and fling him over his head. Naruto landed roughly and saw that the guards were about to rush in and secure the prisoner who even now was trying to get to his feet.

But Naruto's rage wouldn't allow this, it cried out for all of the fools to die. He couldn't tell where this hatred was coming from but a small part of him figured it must've been his bond with Kyu, how else could he explain being able to kill so easily? But that was beside the point; all that mattered right now was that this man had to die. Naruto looked at the ground and noticed one of the throwing knives was right next to his empty hand. Quickly snatching it up Naruto sprinted toward his rising enemy and plunged both of the blades into his shoulders, right where the arm sat in its socket, and his using the unnatural strength gained from the bond with his fox he forced the man to the ground where he then broke both of the blades. Leader screamed in pain, now unable to use either of his arms. All the guards stopped their advance as did Iroh and Ozai as they bared witness to Naruto's extreme rage.

Calmly Naruto stood on the Leader's chest and reached down to grab him by his collar, "Now, tell me why you tried to take my friends and family?" Naruto growled at the man as Kyuubi came over with all the children nestled comfortably in his tails.

Leader groaned in pain before focusing on Naruto, "It was just…a job. We were meant to take them to our employer," He said through the pain.

"Why?"

"Who knows, like I said: it was just a job. They could've been sold, held for ransom, brain washed, I didn't care so long as I got paid and it hurt the Fire Nation," Leader said with a blood stained smile.

With each word the man spoke Naruto and Kyuubi's rage grew and grew, Kyuubi growling at the man ready to end his life.

"Of course the princess would've been a huge bonus, she would've been sold for some serious gold with looks like hers," Leader laughed at that.

That did it, that one comment sent both the boy and fox over the edge and with them linked they just fed off of each other's rage making them even angrier. With a feral cry Naruto stood up and brought his fist down on the man. As he did so, Iroh and Ozai noticed that small bursts of fire were forming around the child's fist. Kyuubi also noticed this and knew what was about to happen so he wrapped the kids in all his tails so that it looked like they were in a giant ball. Right before the punch landed the assassin noticed that boy's eyes had changed, instead of the blue they once were they were now a angry red and the pupil was now a slit. Absent mindedly he noticed how similar they looked to the giant fox's eyes. When Naruto's fist stopped about a foot from the Leader's face a jet of bright gold flames erupted from the boy's fist, completely engulfing the head of his opponent. The flames rose about ten feet into the air once they backlashed from the ground, everyone staring at awe at the sight. In the entire history of the world there have never been any records of gold fire-bending, only the extremely rare blue.

Naruto kept the flames going for ten seconds before he cut them off and looked at the Leader's head or what used to be his head. The face was completely gone; caved in from the force of the flames. The rest was a charred mess looking nothing like what flesh should look like. With heaving breaths Naruto finally started to calm down, his eyes reverting back to their usual sky blue and the gravity of what he had done finally crashed down on him. He had killed. Killed! Not one but four people! People who could've been captured instead but he killed them in his fit of rage. With tears no flowing down his cheeks Naruto backed away from the burnt corpse and tripped over his own feet and falling to the ground and broke down sobbing.

Kyuubi slowly made his to crying boy and sat next to him where Naruto then clung to his fur.

"I'm sorry Naruto," Kyuubi spoke softly as he wrapped a paw around the child.

Eventually Iroh and Ozai came to stand next them when Kyuubi unfurled his tails and handed off the previously captured children, once they were safe Kyuubi then wrapped all nine tails around himself and his charge.

"Kyuubi?" Iroh began but the Giant vulpine cut him off.

"It's alright general; I've got him. Once he calms down a little I'll take him to Ursa. It's best that she handles this."

Iroh nodded and then looked at his brother, "What do you think we should tell the children when they come to?"

Ozai thought for a moment, "The truth, they should know what has transpired here. Our enemies dared to strike our home," He finished with a frown.

Iroh nodded and noticed that Naruto had finally passed out, with no more adrenaline coursing through his system the exhaustion, both physical and emotional, from all that he done had caught up to him. Kyuubi wordlessly picked him up and set him on his back and began heading back inside with everyone else following, knowing that today had changed the small blonde-hiared, blue-eyed boy forever.

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is, to be honest this was originally part of chapter 3 but then I decided that it was waaaay to long of a chapter this early in the story. Now I'm pretty sure that some of you are wondering how Naruto was able to take these guys on and there are two answers. One: it says it right there in the story; Naruto's bond with kyuubi. Just like in NARUTO the young boy draws strength from the fox and so Naruto gained a nice little power boost in a slightly subtle way andsince Kyuubi is what he is he really has no trouble killing, therefore neither did Naruto until he regained himself. Two: the kidnappers severely underestimated Naruto, and that coupled with him being enhanced by Kyuubi let Naruto dominate them. But this will probably be one of the only times I'll let it be such a one sided fight with skilled warriors. Well that's all, Oh! One more thing before I forget, I'll be uploading a new story some time this week so keep an eye out! and here's a hint; it's not a crossover. See ya!<strong>


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